The firm explains industry trends such as defense, tech, healthcare and renewables, and explains its decision to be underweight US equities and overweight Europe.

Dominic Tayler, UK managing director at Oakglen Wealth, told this news service in a recent interview that he is underweight in US equities and overweight in Europe.

“UK and European equities are a lot cheaper than US ones, and there is still a way to go. There are a lot of good firms in the US, like in tech, but they are more expensive. However, there are opportunities in US health care,” Tayler told this news service in an interview. “There is more interest in healthcare as that had performed so badly. That’s the next theme,” he said. Paris-based Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management is also positive about neglected sectors like healthcare in 2026 as is Kevin Thozet, member of the investment committee at Paris-based asset manager Carmignac. See more here.

“China and Asia are interesting too, to get good exposure to tech areas,” Tayler continued. “We recently added Asian tech multinationals Tencent, Samsung and Alibaba to our portfolios. US tech multinational Nvidia is more expensive. We use a thematic approach on equities.”

“About 15 months ago, we bought into defense. We were overweight in defense last year but have since reduced our holdings as they have done so well, after German and the EU hiked up defense spending” he said.

Despite concerns over whether defense and ESG can sit together, Tayler believes that they can, without conflict. “If we don’t have a strong defense sector, the rest doesn’t matter. However, there are some areas that we wouldn’t invest in like cluster bombs, for instance,” he added. Paris-based Natixis Investment Managers and its affiliates also believe that – with certain caveats – defense stocks can sit in ESG-focused portfolios. See more here about defense and ESG.

“Themes are also running in renewables like copper,” he said. Copper is crucial for the renewable energy transition, acting as an essential conductor in solar panels, wind turbines, energy storage and grid infrastructure, using more copper than fossil fuel systems. Tayler highlighted that China is ahead on renewables, notably solar which uses silver. While China still relies on fossil fuels, it produces more than 80 per cent of all solar photovoltaic panels, half of the world’s leading electric vehicles and a third of its wind power. 

“We are invested in gold too but we have trimmed that down recently as it has done very well, up 45 per cent. There’s no reason [why] it won’t continue to be a safety net,” he continued. “Cybersecurity is another theme we are invested in,” he said.

As wealth managers set out their views for the coming year, some appear unsure whether US equity valuations are sustainable, but also aren't yet willing to make a major shift. Several have talked of the need for more diversification.                

“European banks like Dutch-headquartered ING are interesting, and we are overweight there,” Tayler said. He also believes that technology is making it easier to grow a wealth management business, especially smaller ones like Oakglen, although the human touch is still critical.

Tayler, who joined Oakglen Wealth in 2023 from Quilter Cheviot, has also held executive positions at UBS and Credit Suisse over his 30-year career. See more about Oakglen Wealth here. Oakglen Wealth is a wealth manager with offices in London and Jersey.